The present invention relates to improvements in medicine bottles and more specifically, to a weight-specific dosage calculation aid for elixirs to provide a reference source on a medicine bottle for calculating doses of an elixir based upon an individual""s weight.
Currently, pediatric elixirs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and decongestants/cough suppressants are packaged in bottles which have vague and wide ranges of dosing recommendations for children of different weights. For instance, some dosing recommendations on bottles are based on the child""s age. However, pediatric elixir dosing is specifically to be based on weight as per the Physician""s Desk Reference. This is especially critical in view of the significant variations of weights of children of the same age making age determination not only inaccurate, but most dangerous.
Without a direct reference, even elixirs prescribed by a physician can lead to inappropriately low doses of a medication. For instance, when a child""s physician instructs a child""s guardian to deliver a certain amount of elixir to a child on a certain date, should the guardian continue to give the child the same amount of medication months later, the dosage will not be correct if the child""s weight has changed. A child""s weight can change quickly and if the guardian does not inform the physician of the weight change, the dosage will be improper. Continual adjustments in dosing, necessitated by the child""s rapidly changing body weight, is important to ensure maximum therapeutic response to a medication. As a physician, it is not uncommon to hear a parent inquire as to why their child""s fever has not gone down despite the use of medication prescribed four months earlier. Or more critically, why does my child""s fever increase shortly after receiving a dose of the acetaminophen.
Although there currently exist weight-specific dosage calculations presented on charts and pinwheels, they are not readily available to the general public. Even if available, the charts could present a confusing array of dosages that may not be understood by the general consumer. The Physician""s Desk Reference may be used for the calculation but such a reference book is not typically purchased or understood by the average consumer.
The use of bottle mounted or integrated indicators are known in the art but have a primary purpose to act as medication or dosage reminders.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,051 discloses a bottle located memory aid for use in indicating one in a sequence of predetermined times for dispensing medication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,093 discloses a memory aid for use in reminding patients to take medicine that can accommodate different dosage schedules for the medicine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,614 discloses an indicator showing weekday, date and time for taking a pill or other medicinal dose.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,358,117 and 5,279,422 disclose bottle indicators having indicia circumferentially marked around the bottle representing the next time for taking medicine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,912 discloses a time dial which indicates both when medication was last taken and when medication should be taken next.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,032 discloses a patient dosage regimen compliance cap which reminds a patient which dose was last take or which dose is yet to be taken and displays the number of medication units to take at each administration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,189 discloses a medicine bottle cap having a dosage indicator to indicate the next dosage time or other information for the user. The indicator is moved incrementally from one location to another to indicate the time for the next dosage, following the removal of medicine from the bottle.
Other dosage indicating closures for medicine bottles have been known and used in the past including: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,151,599; 3,355,067; 3,572,282; 3,960,713; 4,041,628;
While the prior art is directed to memory aids to remind patients 1) what days to take their prescribed medications, 2) the number of times per day to take the medications, 3) when they took their last dose, 4) when they are to take their next dose, 5) the number of pills to take at each dosing interval, no prior art exists for a calculation aid to determine the exact weight specific dose of an elixir for a patient, of which children require the most specific determination due to their size and ever changing weight.
Thus, what is needed is a weight-specific dosage calculation reference on the elixir container that provides a convenient, user-friendly, immediately accessible way to assure that a child requiring an elixir will attain its maximal therapeutic effects by receiving the exact dose recommended for the child, given the child""s weight. Conversely, a container mounted weight-dosage conversion reference will virtually eliminate the occurrence of children receiving inappropriately high dosages for their weight, mistakes which in some cases are potentially toxic or even lethal.
This invention is a weight-specific dosage calculation reference for use with a medicine bottle. The calculation reference employs narrow apertures on a vertically movable collar allowing a plethora of specific dosing recommendations inscribed on the side of a bottle.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a label mounted reference for a specific elixir""s previously calculated doses corresponding to specific pediatric patient weights. If the patient""s weight falls between the specific weights on the label, the specific dosage may be interpolated or calculated.
In an alternative embodiment, provided is a bottle mounted reference for a specific elixir""s previously calculated doses corresponding to specific pediatric patient weights.
Thus an objective of the invention is to provide accurate, calculated information as an integral part of the elixir bottle.
Another objective of the invention is to eliminate the need for reference books, pinwheels, or the like disjointed materials that are used for calculation but do not form an integral portion of the bottle.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a format available to the physician for providing specific dosages that need to be modified according to the weight of the child.
Still another objective of the invention is to provide a specific dosage calculator that has application for adults, children, and pets.
Another objective of the invention is to reduce the exposure of an inappropriately high dose of medication due to vague and wide ranges currently provided on most elixir bottles designed to address the average child""s weight at a particular age.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an elixir bottle with a simple scale and a vertically movable indicator to visually expose a proper dosage of elixir for a particular patient""s weight.
Yet still another objective of the invention is to provide a device that allows for calculating the proper dose of medication as the dosage pertains to the weight of an adult, child or pet.
It is a further objective of this invention to promote proper dosing to maximize the therapeutic effects of a medication.
Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.